Al tashlicheni ba'et zikna (from the Rosh Hashana prayer beginning with these moving words)
Naomi Sklar, appalled after seeing conditions of neglect in a home for the chronically ill in Netanya, decided to do something about it and other places like it.  
The result was the founding of the ATTAD group in 1984 and Naomi's goal was to bring a little happiness into the lives of people in such circumstances. Twenty-seven years later the ATTAD group is still deeply involved in such assistance.   Enid Abrahams, head of the group, has been a guiding light since then together with many of the original members of the group.
Over the years, great improvements have been made in many of the institutions for the aged and disabled, but badly run ones still exist, with apathy abounding. Even those in better endowed institutions have a need to keep alert and stay interested in life.
ATTAD has a recipe, tried and true.  Every Tuesday morning their Entertainment Group, consisting of 12 to 25 people, sets off for one of the many homes for the aged.  The visit is centered around music, with a selection of cheerful taped discs of all kinds.  After the music begins and the group moves slowly around the room, previously apathetic residents begin to smile and the abler ones get up and join hands in the circle. The wheelchair bound join in the fun with their hands held to move in time with the music.
As Enid has said, the visits are important for three groups: the residents, where a break in monotony is a life-restorer, the volunteers, who are gaining new life insights and a relief for the overworked staff.
ATTAD extends a warm welcome to everyone. Join us on one of our Tuesday visits.  

Call Enid at 09 861 7848 –we'll be happy to see you. 

ATTAD
By Harold Schechner

Every Tuesday morning they meet
The happy couple with the dancing feet
Then they travel to the old folks' home
To show the elderly and infirm
They are not alone.

With the magic of music we touch hands
And make wheelchairs dance and sway
And the only pay we seek
Is the smiles on their faces
Tears of memory on their cheek

That smile makes it all worthwhile
For if in one short hour
We can wipe away the frown and tear
Then that's the reason
Why we are here.